Surface electrical capacitance as a noninvasive bedside measure of epidermal barrier maturation in the newborn infant.

Abstract

These results demonstrate impaired epidermal barrier properties in immature infants, less than 30 weeks' gestation, and reveal a remarkable rate of barrier maturation of this group in the first few days of postnatal life. Also, the finding of decreased CSL in black infants supports the hypothesis of differences in barrier function attributable to skin types. Overall, these findings demonstrate the feasibility of bedside SEC measurements in the evaluation of epidermal barrier properties in the newborn infant.